Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Mar 29, 2015 in London, England

КРАСНАЯ ДОРОЖКА / RED CARPET

Henry Cavill, Jessica Chastain

ЦЕРЕМОНИЯ / CEREMONY

James Nesbitt: "The Jameson Empire Awards has always had a special place in awards season. The excitement of the Globes, the glamour of the BAFTAs and the alcohol consumption of an England-Scotland game. One Scottish guest is hoping to finish this year's show with both his own shoes, who shall remain nameless. But enough about James McAvoy!"

Talking about Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch's Oscar nominations, and in particular Cumberbatch hysteria, Nesbitt asks, "Am I missing something here? I've had three hair transplants, three painful transplants, to look this good, and a man whose most devoted fans say he looks like an otter appears on Sexiest Man Alive lists."

"For all those of you who won't go home with a trophy tonight, I am reminded of a quote from the great American comedian Jonathan Winters who said, 'I couldn't wait for success so I went ahead without it.'"

With such a wealth of British talent in the room, it was no easy task to choose two of Blighty's finest to present this award.Happily for us, we had access to the combined might of James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe.They're both stars of stage and screen, they're both gifted with uncanny

"We didn't know what to say when we stood up here," says McAvoy, "so I'll just tell you what Daniel suggested, which is that we stand here and look pretty."

"Thanks!" - says Cookson."Taron would be much more eloquent. Thanks for this honour - and Jane, can you speak for me?"

Goldman tries to demur, only for McAvoy to jump in and tattle that "she literally just said that she's so drunk and please don't make her speak".She speaks eloquently anyway. "We weren't expecting this, which explains why I'm so drunk. Thank you so much to Empire and the readers."

James McAvoy presents Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson and Jane Goldman with the Best British Film Award for the Kingsman

2015 Jameson Empire Awards - Empire Legend

Fiennes: "Thank you to my true long-time friend and real legend standing behind me. Thank you to Empire magazine and all its readers. I am feeling a mixture of slight embarassment and delight, joy and gob-smack. Thinking about what to say tonight, it was immediately clear that the L word is best only applied to a small number of dead actors and best treated with irony."

РЭЙФ ФАЙНС / RALPH FIENNES

empireonline.com: The 20th Jameson Empire Awards takes place in London this Sunday in a flurry of red carpet glamour and confetti-strewn celebration of the medium we all love. At the heart of the festivities will be acting great and national treasure Ralph Fiennes, the newly-announced recipient of this year’s Empire Legend award. The Suffolk-born actor follows in the footsteps of Helen Mirren, Tim Burton and Tom Cruise in collecting the accolade.

Even by the vaulted standards of his 25-year career, Fiennes is experiencing a purple patch. A Golden Globe nominee for his exceptional comic turn as M. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel, he’s also kicked-started his directorial career in fine style with contrasting period pieces, Coriolanus (2011) and The Invisible Woman (2013), in recent years.

Fiennes, of course, is twice Oscar-nominated. He was first recognised by the Academy for his indelible depiction of SS commandant Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List, a tone-perfect depiction of the banality of evil, and went on to receive a Best Actor nod as The English Patient’s lovelorn Count. There’s been memorable villains, including Voldemort and In Bruges’ potty-mouthed Harry, romantic heroes, and, in the shape of Gareth "M” Mallory, an ongoing presence behind the oak desk of the James Bond franchise.

Fiennes will be joined on Sunday by a host of actors and filmmakers at the 20th Jameson Empire Awards, collecting an array of gongs, most voted for by Empire readers. Follow the night’s events here via our live blog and news feed, Empire’s Twitter feed, Facebook, Viber and Instagram. There may also be smoke signals.

2015 Jameson Empire Awards - Best Thriller

МАРК СТРОНГ / MARK STRONG

Special honour: Mark Strong was also on hand to present the award for Best Thriller to The Imitation Game star Alex Lawther

"I'm here on behalf of just one of the films I'm in this year," says Strong, who was ribbed on that front by Nesbitt in his intro."Most people had no idea who Alan Turing was when we started making the film, and now people know more about him, which can only be a good thing. Have a lovely evening!"

Harrington: "I think I've been nominated to talk. Thank you to Empire. We are literally the last surviving members of Game Of Thrones. We're also not trusted to talk much, so our overlords have recorded a little video."

2015 Jameson Empire Awards - Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Here to accept the award is the projected mental image of James McAvoy, who is doing an awfully good job of convincing us all that he’s really in the room, leaping onstage and kissing Chan.

"I'd like to thank Jennifer Lawrence's wonderful blue hue and naked body for ensuring I didn't even feature in that clip," says McAvoy, "even though I had probably the best hair of 2014. If we weren't fans of X-Men when we started, we are now, and I just hope that when we do Apocalypse this summer, we do the fans as proud as we did this time. Thank you Empire! We do hugely appreciate it."

2015 Jameson Empire Awards - Best Director

ГЕНРИ КАВИЛЛ / HENRY CAVILL

Henry Cavill presents Christopher Nolan with the Best Director Award on stage during the Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England

БЭКСТЕЙДЖ / BACKSTAGE

Henry Cavill and Kit Harington - Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England

Dean Charles-Chapman, Liam Cunningham, Kit Harington, Isaac Kempstead and Thomas Brodie-Sangster collect the Empire Hero Award for "Game of Thrones" on stage during the Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England

ДЖЕЙМС МАКЭВОЙ / JAMES MCAVOYиДЭНИЕЛ РЭДКЛИФФ / DANIEL RADCLIFFE

James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe attend the Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England

МАРК СТРОНГ / MARK STRONG

The Kingsman: The Secret Service cast members pose backstage with their award

ГЕНРИ КАВИЛЛ / HENRY CAVILL

Henry Cavill and Christopher Nolan with the Best Director Award at the Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England

Henry Cavill - Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on March 29, 2015 in London, England